by David Phinney
Monday March 18th 2024

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Grapes and Sex and Government Contracts

Talk about low-hanging fruit: A prostitute testified Wednesday that former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham fed her grapes as she sat naked in a Jacuzzi before they headed to a bedroom at a Hawaiian resort. The woman testified at the bribery trial of defense contractor Brent Wilkes, who is accused paying the former congressman with $700,000 in [...]

Waxman Takes More Swings at Baghdad Embassy Contractor

A leading Democrat in Congress is blasting the US State Department for apparently casting a blind eye on allegations of widespread construction flaws at the $600-million-and-counting embassy project in Baghdad. In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Rep. Henry Waxman, who chairs the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee, [...]

Under Sworn Testimony: Misleading Statements about U.S. Embassy in Baghdad

by David Phinney Oct. 6, 2007 -- Two months ago, a top US State Department official in charge of embassy construction gave misleading statements under sworn testimony about the new US embassy in Baghdad. He claimed that it would be completed on budget and on time. Now numerous news reports say that the project's completion will be delayed for [...]

Armed Contractors: Transparency and Accountability

The Congressional Research Service distributed its new study on private security contractors operating in Iraq to members of Congress: The use of armed civilians to perform security tasks that were formerly performed by the military raises new transparency, accountability, legal, and symbolic issues, and practical issues regarding the possible [...]

Iraq Contracts: Waxman Updates Data on Questionable Deals

Rep. Henry A. Waxman, the powerful committee chairman who has had Iraq contract fraud in the crosshairs for years, updates his assessment of government contracting under the Bush Administration. The update reflects what he views as worrisome trends that are just getting worse. Thoughts from the chairman of the House Government Oversight and [...]

Democrats Adding Up the Numbers

Congress Does the Math: Not only are there 145,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, there are over 100,000 private contractors working U.S. funded contracts. Many of them are doing jobs that the military once did. They may not be Americans, but they are drawing their pay stubs from the U.S. treasury -- making them the largest deployed private military force [...]

Slap on the Hands: List of Iraq-Related Contractors Receiving Penalties

Slap on the Hands: List of Iraq-Related Contractors Receiving Penalties

by David Phinney March 21, 2007 -- Government investigators told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday that they were focusing on debarment and suspensions of individuals and companies as an approach to punishing wrongdoing by contractors in Iraq. To Date: 14 individuals and companies have been suspended from future US government [...]

War Costs: Who’s Counting?

Defense Contracting in Iraq: The non-partisan Congressional Research Service gives the lowdown on contracting in Iraq as we know it today."The Department of Defense is the largest agency in the federal government. It obligated nearly $270 billion on contracts for goods and services in FY2005 -- an 88 percent increase over the amount obligated in [...]

Al Gore Taps the Internet for Crusade Against Global Warming

by David Phinney Feb. 28, 2007 -- From the man accused of taking credit for inventing the internet, a new political crusade is heating up to fight global warming. Fresh off his Oscar winning power-point presentation, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore launched a chain email lobbying effort this week to pressure Washington into heeding his [...]

Worth A Read: Bloggers Throw Democrat Tauscher on the Hot Seat

Worth A Read: Bloggers Throw Democrat Tauscher on the Hot Seat

by David Phinney Feb. 21, 2007 -- Gone are the photos of Ellen Tauscher and President Bush on her congressional Web site -- including the one her critics have labeled "The Caress," a photo where the president appeared to have his hand on her thigh. It doesn't matter. Liberal bloggers still are busy trashing the California congressional [...]

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